Not What It Seems
by Zoja
Summary: A walk, heavy rain, visit to a friend and a completely unexpected visitor. What exactly can come out of it?


**A/N:** Just a short, crazy thing that made its way into my mind. I hope that you are all going to like it! It got written with a huge help of dear **fanka77**. Thank you very, very much for your help!

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She left her apartment using the excuse of walking Levi, but the truth was that she was the one more in need of this walk than her faithful companion. After a few days spent in the office working on a very difficult case, she really could use some time outdoor but she also needed to clear her head a little. She couldn't help feeling that for the last month, Jack seemed strange around her. It was as if something changed in him after this small fuss with her job offer in New York, but she completely couldn't understand why, as in the end it all stayed the way it had been.

She wasn't even aware that her feet were slowly dragging her towards his apartment. She only realised that, when Levi pulled her in the direction of the park, which she recognised as the one, which was the closest to his place. She sat on one of the benches, letting Levi off his lash, and watched her dog run around for a moment before turning her eyes to look at the people present there. She wouldn't be very surprised to notice Jack; she knew it was around the time, when he was running and it was nothing uncommon for them to bump into each other. Ever since the memorable matchmaking for Amanda, Lucy insisted that whenever he knew what her plans were, he was purposely choosing his place to run to meet her, using it as an excuse to use the chance encounter strategy with her. There were moments, when she allowed herself to think how much she would like for her roommate to be right, but the more time passed, the rarer they got. It was clear; Jack didn't see her as anyone more than friend, and the dark-haired woman, who she has accidentally spotted him in the restaurant with, was a very clear evidence.

Before she knew it, it suddenly became suspiciously dark and a very heavy rain started falling down from the sky. She was soaked within two minutes, before she managed to call Levi to her side and clasp his leash back. She started to regret that despite her initial intention, she left her umbrella at home. After a few unsuccessful attempts to catch a taxi, she decided that walking to Jack's apartment wasn't going to harm her, and it was probably her best possibility as it was just five minutes away. All her clothes were soaking wet, so five more minutes in the rain didn't make a huge different and she actually felt guilty, leaving a wet trace after her, when she finally reached the building and walked up to his door. She hesitated for just a moment, creating a small pool on the floor, before knocking.

She didn't have to wait long before he opened the door. She immediately blushed, when her eyes fell right to his bare chest, and the colour on her cheeks deepened, when she found herself thinking that the way his shirts were a little tight here and there definitely didn't do him justice. He couldn't exactly be called very muscular, but his muscles were definitely nicely shaped and visible.

"Sue!" he stated, obviously surprised, but the shock in his eyes was quickly replaced by worry. "You're soaking wet!" he added, taking in her appearance before moving to the side. "Come in."

Sue and Levi entered his apartment and she sighed, when the dog stopped in the middle of the living room and shook off the water from his fur, splashing it all around.

"**SORRY.**" she signed, not trusting her voice, yet and he nodded his head.

"**NO PROBLEM.**" he smiled at her, as always making her heart jump. "I'll be right back."

He left the room in order to bring her a towel and look for some clothes, which she could change into. Sue, who tried to move as little as possible, so she wasn't going to make his whole floor wet, wondered why he was always making her react like this. Whenever she was meeting his gaze at work or he flashed his famous smile at her, she could feel her heart start to beat quicker and her cheeks redden slightly. She knew, of course, why. She was undeniably attracted to him and no matter how much she wanted to fight it, nothing seemed to work.

A moment later he returned, informing her that a towel and some dry clothes were waiting for her on his bed, and she went to change herself. He has, actually, left her a couple of things to choose from, aware that all of them were going to be too big for her. She slowly undressed, trying to ignore this strange feeling within her at the thought of being in his bedroom, and wrapped the towel tightly around herself when he flickered the light a few times, signalising for her that he wanted to enter. Knowing her well enough, he walked in with his hand covering his eyes, as he didn't want her to feel offended or horribly uncomfortable.

"Give me your clothes." he spoke, and quickly left when she placed the wet clothes in her hand.

He jumped, when hanging them on a dryer, he heard the doorbell ring. He immediately started to wonder, who it could be. Was another of his friends caught somewhere close during this heavy rainfall? He rather hoped not, as he looked forward to spending this evening with Sue. He didn't get the chance to take her for dinner this week; they have just finished a very important and complicated investigation, and when he suggested to take her somewhere, she stated that she didn't feel well and wanted to go home. He didn't, of course, object but at the same time, wasn't happy about it and when glanced through the peep-hole, he was very pleased to see her on the other side of the door.

It wasn't any of his friends. In fact, it was one of the last people, who he would expect to find there. There was a rather short woman with a brown hair and an impatient look in her blue-gray eyes standing outside, and he looked at her in shock.

"M-Mom?" he managed to stutter, staring at her as if she grew another head. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I come, visit my son sometimes, Jackson?" she asked with a stern expression on her face, but a playful tone in her voice.

Remembering himself, he stepped to the side, so she could enter and reached for her bag. Placing it next to the small chest of drawers, he watched her take off her raincoat and shoes, as well as open her umbrella and place it on the floor to dry.

"I don't remember you telling me you were coming…" he spoke and glanced at Levi, who was lying curled on the couch and watching the scene curiously.

"That's because I thought I would make you a surprise." she smiled and allowed him to pull her into a hug. The last time she saw him was during Christmas, and there has almost been half a year since that holiday. "Do you have any plans for the weekend? I wouldn't want to ruin anything…"

"Don't worry, Mom. My only plans included spending the evening on the couch and watching a match."

"Then what took you so long to get to the door? And why are you walking undressed?"

Before he could answer, however, the door to his bedroom opened and Sue walked out of the room wearing one of his T-shirts and boxers, which were actually like shorts for her. She was completely unaware of the unexpected visitor, and didn't really glance in their direction before speaking.

"Jack? Where have you placed my clothes, I have to…" she stopped dead in her tracks, when she raised her eyes and looked straight at the dumbfounded older woman, looking at her with a slight amazement in her eyes.

She blushed deeply and as fast as she only could, returned to the bedroom. Jack groaned, when his mother looked at him with her eyebrows raised; he had no doubts what the expression in her face meant and he knew, that it definitely wasn't going to make Sue feel better.

"I think I have my answers." she spoke, and he hid his face in his hands, shaking his head. "Oh come on, Jackson, stop acting like a teenager! You're a grown up man, it's not my business what you do at_ your_ home and with who."

"It's not what it looks like…" he spoke, despite knowing that it was practically pointless. "Sue was nearby when the rain started to fall and my place was close, so she came here."

"Of course, of course." he sighed, already afraid of his inevitable conversation with Sue. She was surely going to think he didn't try to convince his mother, explain the truth to her, because she didn't know that it didn't have any sense. Laura Hudson, once convinced about something, was very unwilling to believe anything else. "So, this was this famous Sue, that I've heard so much about? Bring the girl here, I'd love to meet her!"

He entered the bedroom very apprehensively. He found her sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging a pillow and hiding her face in it. She jumped and gasped, when he placed a hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there, and noticed that the blush almost didn't fade from her face.

"Who was this woman?" she asked and he smiled nervously.

"Well... She's my mom… She decided to make me a surprise and come…"

"What?!" Sue's eyes bulged out, when she read the words on his lips. "What she must have thought..!"

"She actually jumped to all the wrong conclusions…"

"But you explained everything to her, right?" he shrugged, and nodded hesitantly, and Sue's eyes widened, because she knew perfectly what it meant. "Jack..!"

"But I did explain everything to her! Well, I tried, but she didn't really want to believe me…"

She whined and hid her face in the pillow once again. Jack reached and took the thing out of her hands, only to wrap his arms around her and pull her close, pressing her against himself. She didn't even try to prevent him; she simply moved into his embrace and hid her face in the crook of his neck, taking a lot of comfort from the way his hands gently caressed her back. She was certain that he was whispering soothing words to her as well, and a part of her wished she could hear him, at least once. How was she supposed to go out of the room, though? There was no way she could hide there and avoid facing the woman forever, and it became clear when he patted her shoulder after a moment.

"She actually sent me here to bring you back to the living room, because she wants to meet you."

"Do I have to go there?"

"It's not going to be so bad, Sue. I might have been eaten alive, if it had been _your_ mom, but mine is rather harmless." he said with a smile, winking at her.

Few minutes later, they walked out of the room together. Laura smiled at the sight of her son's arm around Sue's shoulders, and chuckled when she noticed how intently she was staring at her feet and how deep her blush was.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to meet you, Sue." she spoke, pulling younger woman into a hug and heard her let out a surprised sound. "Jack has been talking about you all the time! He…"

"Ugh… Mom…" she looked up at him, when he interrupted. "She can't hear you, remember?"

"OH!" she exclaimed and immediately moved away a little. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot! As I was saying, after everything I heard from my son, I am very happy to finally meet you. So, how long are the two of you together? He didn't mention anything when he was in Wisconsin during Christmas."

Sue immediately glanced at Sparky, who could only groan. It was going to be a very long evening.


End file.
